1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a camera module having an image processing procedure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method of integrating the camera module with a host and display modules.
2. Description of Related Art
Because of the fast development of digital image processing technology, digital cameras have become important in consumer electronic products. A digital camera has many advantages. For example, no film is needed in a digital camera, a large amount of image data can be stored in the digital camera, and the captured image can be instantly displayed after taking a picture. A digital camera has the function of image processing, such as brightness adjustment and color adjustment. The image data can be stored digitally and be transferred through the Internet. The image data can also be recorded in a CDRW permanently.
Moreover, because of the development of communication technology, cell phone products are prevalent. With the increase of the transmission speed, cells phones that support multimedia become the main stream in the development of cell phone technology. A cell phone having a built-in digital camera is a typical example. A user can transmit any information to any person from any location through the communication system. The functions of other portable electronic apparatus, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), are enhanced as well by a built-in digital camera. Therefore, a portable electronic apparatus having a digital camera is an important trend.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a built-in digital camera integrated into a portable electronic apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1A, at least one display module 104 and a camera module 106 are connected to a host 102, respectively. The host 102 is, for example, a cell phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).
The at least one display module 104 shares a data bus 118 with the camera module 106. The camera module 106 performs an image processing procedure and generates a set of display data signals. The display data signals are sent to the host 102 through the data bus 108. The host 102 then transmits the display data signals to the corresponding display modules 104. If the speed of the central processing unit of the host is not high enough, the data transmission is too slow.
FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an external enclosure camera module integrated into a portable electronic apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1B, a host 102 is connected to a display module 104 and a camera module 106, respectively. The host 102 generates a display module control interface signal 110 to control the display module 104. The host 102 communicates with the camera module 106 through a camera module control interface signal 112. A designer has to modify the software of the host 102 to support the camera module 106. This increases the development time of products.